ANAHEIM — It somehow seemed fitting that earthquake tremors rattled Honda Center on Thursday night about 2 1/2 hours before NHL rivals from Southern California and Northern California faced off in Anaheim. (Yes, the press box was swaying high above the ice.)

There also was an aftershock two hours later during the first-period intermission, perhaps caused by the news the San Jose Sharks were called for the first two penalties in the opening period. (Has anyone called Ripley yet?)

Of course, we all knew the first-ever playoff series between the Ducks and San Jose Sharks would produce at least a few seismic jolts, didn’t we?

The biggest shocker of all, though, is that the eighth-seeded Ducks are flying back to NoCal with a 3-1 series lead after a 4-0 victory in Game 4 that pushed the top-ranked Sharks to the brink of elimination.

On the NHL Richter scale, that’s a magnitude 7.0 stunner, because San Jose entered the playoffs as the Presidents’ Trophy winner after leading the NHL with a whopping 117 points in the regular season, 26 more than the Ducks.

That, however, is now ancient history. So is the fact the Ducks had to go 10-2-1 down the stretch to sneak into the playoffs as the eighth and final seed.

And who remembers now that the Ducks were outshot in each of the first three games of the series while taking more than their usual quota of foolish penalties?

Sometimes, it takes a while to learn valuable lessons.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle has been preaching the importance of staying out of the penalty box for eons, but it probably didn’t sink in until they lost Game 3 on a San Jose power-play goal after a hooking penalty by Corey Perry in the third period.

But that minor penalty was the only penalty whistled against the Ducks in the second and third periods, which also happened to be their best two periods of the series – until Thursday night.

Veteran Ducks winger Teemu Selanne said it also wasn’t a coincidence the Ducks finally outshot the Sharks, 13-8 and 9-7, in those two periods.

“That’s how you have to approach the game, to get four lines rolling,” Selanne said after Thursday’s morning skate. “When you don’t take penalties, you can roll all the lines and get your normal game going.

“When you take a lot of penalties in a row, it kills all the momentum. Some guys get overloaded with ice time and the rest of us sit on the bench and get cold. It isn’t good for anybody. … And if we can cut down on their power plays, our chances of winning go way higher.”

Guess what happened Thursday night. The Ducks finished with fewer penalties than the Sharks for the first time in the series – and won decisively.

Two penalties by the Ducks in the first period, one penalty in the second and one in the third, in the closing seconds. (More after-shocks?)

After rookie Bobby Ryan scored two goals in the second period, as if he even needed to validate his Calder Trophy nomination a day earlier, it was significant the Ducks didn’t take any penalties in the third period until 11 seconds remained.

And that 10-minute misconduct against defenseman Sheldon Brookbank shouldn’t count because he was only trying to protect his teammates after Sharks teammates Douglas Murray and Jeremy Roenick began gooning it up along the boards, to try to show the Ducks the series wasn’t over.

It isn’t yet, but there might be another after-shock coming.

Turnstile count: Contrary to what you might have read in this space Wednesday, Game 3 of the playoff series Tuesday night was not a sellout, falling 897 short of the listed hockey capacity of 17,174 at Honda Center. It ended the Ducks’ playoff sellout streak of 20, dating to Game 6 of the opening-round playoff series against Calgary in 2006.

Obviously, the economic downturn and the increased ticket prices in the postseason were factors in the sub-capacity crowd. Cheapest seats go for $13.50 in an advance-purchased playoff strip, compared to $56.50 if purchased on game day. All prices are the same as the 2008 playoffs.

Attendance at Game 4 was 16,830, or 344 shy of a sellout.

A Ducks spokesman said Thursday the team has changed the way it does business because of the depressed economy, offering “pay as you play” playoff plans this year. They allow fans to pay as games are confirmed in each round, with no up-front money required until a series is completed and the Ducks advance. No one will be charged for Round 2 unless the Ducks advance to Round 2.

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